As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I think Organix is a great profile to run on just about anyone who walks in the door of your practice. It uses a simple, first morning urine collection and it can reveal so much about your patient’s metabolic, nutrient, and toxicant status.
Over the next six weeks I’ll go over the six easy steps that will help make you an expert at using this great profile. But first, I’d like to spend a little time talking about what organic acids are and why they are important for your patient.
In human metabolism, organic acids are carboxylic acids that have high water solubility and high renal clearance. They can be short chain fatty acids, amino acid conjugates, nitrogen containing acids, or ketones. They can be intermediates in biochemical pathways such as the Kreb’s cycle, like citrate and succinate. They can be catabolic end-products of the neurotransmitters epinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. They can also be by-products made by bacteria in the small bowel.
Organic acids can be very useful as indicators of nutrient deficiencies. The metabolism of compounds in the body requires several enzymatic steps. These enzymes depend on specific coenzymes (vitamins) and cofactors (minerals) to function.
Notice that B cannot be metabolized because Enzyme 2 lacks the vitamin (coenzyme) required for it to be converted to C. Consequently, B piles up and spills into the urine. By measuring the amount of B in the urine, you can extrapolate the extent of the nutrient insufficiency. This approach is called “functional” analysis since it does not measure the nutrient directly but rather measures the metabolic results of an insufficiency of the nutrient. The 40 compounds measured in the Organix Profile can provide a lot of guidance for patient therapy. For example, you will be able to determine if carnitine is really needed, or if coenzyme Q10 supplementation is optimal at 0, 30, or 300 mg/day. Is ammonemia contributing to symptoms? How important is glutathione support? Is dysbiosis an issue to address?
The Organix Profile is a cost-effective way to get a comprehensive metabolic picture of your patient that can guide key areas for treatment. It is considered the “basic chemistry profile” of Integrative and Functional Medicine. The test report is organized into functional categories and includes individualized therapeutic guidelines.
See you next week for the first easy step!
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